England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Wildmore Fen St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Wildmore Fen lies in southeastern central Lincolnshire roughly 8 miles north of the market town & port of Boston. Wildmore Fen sits on the B1192 road which links Coningsby with Swineshead. Wildmore Fen was a creation of Acts of Parliament in the early 19th century when a newly available tract of reclaimed land was assigned to no fewer than12 assorted parishes, where the participants of these marriages show a parish of origin it usually refers to that tract of Wildmore Fen assigned to that parish. Much of the properties within the parish can be found scattered at intervals alongside the B1192 with "New York" (not the obvious one) the major grouping. The land is almost totally flat and below 5 metres above sea level, it is intensively arable with not only the typical crops but extensive plantings of table vegetables such as onion, leeks and brassicas. Almost all drainage in the area is man-influenced, with the straightened River Witham providing the spine of the system taking water down to Boston and thence to the North Sea. As already mentioned Wildmore Fen is sited at only marginally above sea level and it takes journey of several miles before on crosses the 10 metre contour. Around 4,000 acres was assigned to the newly designated parish which eventually grew to a population of around 750 parishioners. For obvious reasons Wildmore Fen is not mentioned in Domesday Book, it being a recent creation.

The Church

St Peter's church sits on the western side of the B1192 roughly 400 metres south of the junction marked as Hundle Houses on modern Ordnance Survey maps. This plain and simple box of a church was constructed to meet the spiritual needs of the newly created parish in 1816 and consists of an unadorned nave and chancel of red brick. The only embellishment to this plain box is its pedimental gable there being no bellcote or tower. As the B1192 is fast and straight it is welcome that there is a small pull-in outside the gates which stand somewhat incongruously isolated with no fence either side. A surfaced pathway leads to the church which sits within a churchyard devoid of any impediment for the photographer.